Ed Miliband will open a new front in his war on excessive City pay on Friday,
as he calls for curbs on bonuses at banks that have not required government
bail-outs.

The Labour leader will promise MPs a vote on whether to end the bonus culture where executives receive "huge" rewards for simply doing their jobs.

In a speech in the heart of London's Canary Wharf financial district, he will warn that too many financiers are receiving rewards that are "too big, too often" while schoolchildren are being denied books and libraries are closing as a result of the financial crisis.

The banking sector is now at "a crossroads" and the lives of rich financiers must be brought into line with those of ordinary people, he suggests, with a call for a new mode of "one nation banking".

On Thursday night, Mr Miliband’s comments were being seen as a new warning to groups such as Barclays, where chief executive Bob Diamond is in line for an annual bonus worth up to £3.4m and a potential £6.75m long-term award on top of his £1.35m salary.

Barclays is expected to reveal next week it has paid around £1.5bn in bonuses to its 24,000 investment bankers, about a third less than last year.

Although Barclays has not received a state bail out, it still benefits "indirectly" from the certainty that the government will never let a bank go to the wall, Mr Miliband's argument suggests.

"All companies must show responsibility," he says. "Banks have a particular responsibility because they are either directly or indirectly supported by the taxpayer."

Mr Miliband believes Labour has outflanked the coalition and caught the public mood in attacking the excesses of city pay.

During the past week, Stephen Hester, the chief executive of RBS, was forced to waive his £1m bonus under pressure from Labour, while Fred Goodwin, Mr Hester's predecessor, was dramatically stripped of his knighthood.

The Institute of Directors and the former Chancellor, Alistair Darling, are among critics of the decision to annul Mr Goodwin's honour, warning that an "anti-business hysteria" could do untold damage to Britain's reputation as a place to trade.

However, Labour sources suggested Mr Miliband now had an appetite for a fresh assault on the bonus culture.

"This is not about one man, one bonus, or one knighthood," Mr Miliband will say in a speech in Canary Wharf.

"The consequences of the financial crisis are felt every time a library closes, every time a school can't afford a new book, and every time a policeman or policewoman is taken off the beat.

"The banking sector needs to understand this. People who did not cause the financial crisis are paying the price. Too many of those who did cause the financial crisis are not.

"This is a call for banking to recognise it has reached a crossroads. Continuing on its current path will lead to further isolation from society, greater public anger – and an economy which does not pay its way in the world."

He will tell bankers that "huge bonuses" must not be awarded "for just doing your job". "They should not be a one-way bet."

Next week, during a Labour debate in the Commons, MPs will be given the chance for a non-binding vote on the party's proposal for a new tax on bankers' bonuses. Labour says the plan would raise enough money to fund measures to get 100,000 unemployed young people back to work.

"We will also ask MPs to vote on ending a bonus culture based on one-way bets rather than genuine reward for risk," he says.

Mr Diamond, an American, took over the role of chief executive at the beginning of last year, after rising to the top of Barclays' investment banking arm.

He was Britain's top paid banking boss in 2011, with a £250,000 base salary and a £6.5m bonus in shares.

In reports on Friday the bank said it would cut pay and bonuses for 24,000 staff at its investment banking arm, Barclay Capital, by nearly a third. This would still mean some staff receiving payouts worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.